A weekly guide to carry the conversation beyond Sunday morning.
Begin by inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your conversation and soften hearts to receive what God wants to speak through this discussion.
Question: Share about a time when someone showed up for you “by chance” at exactly the right moment. How did that impact you?
This helps the group ease into the topic and begin thinking about divine appointments in everyday life.
Question: The religious expert asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and later, “Who is my neighbor?” Why do you think we’re tempted to define and limit who our neighbors are?
Context from the sermon: The pastor explained that this expert in religious law wanted to “justify his actions” by customizing and defining for himself who his neighbors were. We all do this—we want to be calculated and careful about who deserves our love and generosity. The pastor said, “There’s nothing calculated about living a lavished life.” We count the cost and want our generosity to be fruitful based on our own understanding, but God calculated the cost and still sent His son before anything existed.
Leader tip: Help the group be honest about the ways they’ve limited their definition of “neighbor”—whether by politics, past hurts, social circles, or comfort zones.
Question: The pastor said, “There’s a difference between knowing something by heart and knowing the heart of what you know.” How can we be doing the right religious things without having the right heart? What does that look like in our own lives?
Context from the sermon: The religious expert knew the law by heart—he could recite it perfectly. But Jesus exposed that he didn’t understand the heart behind it. The pastor warned: “We can be at the right place. We can be about the right things. We can even sing the right songs. Yet our heart not be moved any closer to God.” He shared how disturbing it is when we realize we’ve become callous to God’s presence—when we can move about in His presence without being moved by Him. The priest and temple assistant in the parable spent the most time around God’s presence, yet they passed by someone in need.
Leader tip: This is a moment for gentle self-examination. Encourage the group to think about their own spiritual routines—church attendance, Bible reading, worship—and whether these are drawing them closer to God’s heart for people.
Question: The pastor shared the powerful story of missing a turn in Pittsburgh and ending up at a fatal accident scene “by chance.” He said, “The by chance moments in our life are never by chance.” When have you experienced a “by chance” moment where God was clearly positioning you to show His love?
Context from the sermon: The pastor emphasized that both the priest and temple assistant came upon the wounded man “by chance.” His personal story illustrated how we’re often tempted to think “I can’t stomach this” or “what can I do?”—convincing ourselves of our nothingness. But he challenged: “If you have invited Jesus to make his home in your heart, all of the coincidences that you come across in life are never coincidences because you are a carrier of life within you.” The enemy wants to distract us from these divine appointments. The pastor’s wife, Summer, wouldn’t leave the dying woman’s side, holding her hand and praying—and they later learned she had been seeking Jesus in her final months.
Leader tip: Give space for people to share stories, but also gently press into the times we’ve walked past our “by chance” moments. This could be convicting, so lead with grace.
Question: Jesus made a despised Samaritan the hero of His story—someone the religious people would have considered “less than.” Who is the “Samaritan” in your life that Jesus might use to challenge your assumptions about who can demonstrate God’s love?
Context from the sermon: The pastor explained that Samaritans were “half breeds” who were racially profiled and had no right to access the temple in Jerusalem. For Jesus to make a Samaritan the one who showed mercy to a Jew was “ludicrous.” The pastor asked: “Who is that in your parable? Who is the individual? You’re like, are you kidding me, Jesus? You’re going to put that person in there? You’re going to put ‘they/them’ in there? Jesus, really? You’re going to put that political party in the story right there?” He concluded: “Sometimes the ones that we are adversarial towards can have a better expression of the love of God than those who walk with Jesus.”
Leader tip: This question requires vulnerability and humility. Help the group identify their blind spots—political opponents, people with different lifestyles, those who’ve hurt them, or people they simply find difficult.
Question: The Samaritan didn’t just bandage the wounded man—he stayed with him, paid for his care, and promised to cover any additional costs. What does this level of lavish generosity cost us? What keeps us from loving this way?
Context from the sermon: The pastor detailed how the Samaritan “soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn where he took care of him. He didn’t just drop him off at the inn after he was bandaged, he continued to take care of him.” The next day he gave two silver coins and said he’d pay whatever else was needed. The pastor said we’ve been “burned” by generosity before and become jaded. We want to be calculated and see the fruit of our investment. But he challenged: “What if some of our lavish, the lavish overflow of our life, we’re never meant to see the fruit of it?”
Leader tip: Help the group wrestle with the tension between wisdom and lavish generosity. Acknowledge that past hurts make us cautious, but challenge the group not to let those experiences harden their hearts.
Question: The pastor said, “In order for us to live lavishly, it means that we have to die to preference. We’ve got to die to our roster. We have to die to our criteria of who deserves lavished love.” What preferences or criteria do you need to die to this week?
Context from the sermon: The pastor challenged the congregation about being “so consumed about keeping our temple utensils clean that we forget that there are people to love.” He called out being caught up in assessing worship teams and set lists “as if that matters at all.” He said we can’t be selective about “that eternal gift that you have on the inside. How dare us be selective on the lavish grace that has been poured out on us? Nah, you don’t deserve it. Nah, you’re too far gone.” He emphasized that revival never comes from political decisions but from “the overflow of the presence of God that pours into just one soul and then spills out in a lavish way.”
Leader tip: This is where the rubber meets the road. Help people get specific about their preferences—comfort, time, pride, political views, social circles, etc.
Question: How will you live like God’s generosity has changed you this week?
Context from the sermon: The pastor made this intensely practical: “Maybe for some of you, it’s to give presents or to extend forgiveness in a way that costs you comfort, time. Or it might cost you your pride to give of your presence. Who do you need to sit with? Leave your phone in your car. Who do you need to sit with? Who do you need to forgive? Put pride aside. Put comfort aside. Try not to answer the questions of, ‘Once this ball gets rolling, what is this going to look like?’ That’s not what’s on the table for conversation. What’s on the table for conversation is the first step.”
Leader Guide:
Pray the prayer from### Closing Prayer (5 minutes)
Pray the prayer from the sermon together as a group:
“Dear Heavenly Father, I invite Jesus to live in my heart. Thank you for your lavished love over my life. Help me by the power of your spirit to lavish love on my neighbors in Jesus name. Amen.”
Then invite group members to pray briefly for one another, specifically for the action steps they shared. Pray for courage, compassion, and divine appointments this week.
A weekly practice you can do beyond Sunday morning.
Talk about forgiveness, attention, and patience. Ask: “Why is giving grace sometimes harder than giving money?”
A weekly practice you can do beyond Sunday morning.
Challenge: Give What Costs You
The Challenge: This week, give presence or forgiveness in a way that costs you comfort, time, or pride.
You Must Choose ONE:
Option A — Radical Presence
Option B — Lavish Forgiveness
Concrete Action:
